This World Is Not My Home

There is a hymn you may have heard before called “This World Is Not My Home” (click the title to hear the song). Through social media, I have seen a few artists record their own newer versions of this song. I believe that this particular hymn, though it was written several decades ago, resonates with people today because its message is comforting and relevant. 

The song starts with this verse:

“This world is not my home, I’m just a passing through

My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue;

The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door,

And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

The chorus also ends with the same line each time: “I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

We aren’t made to feel at home in this world. C.S. Lewis famously said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” When we see political unrest and global conflicts or experience personal strife and struggles, we are reminded that this world is not our home. That insatiable desire within us reminds us that we are made for another world. Nothing in this world will ever be able to satisfy us. No amount of money, no other person, no accomplishments, nothing can appease the desire we all have for something more than what this world offers. 

Nothing will satisfy, that is, except for Jesus. It is He who saves us and changes us. He gives us the promise and hope of eternal life. This is why Paul calls this mystery “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). If you are in Christ, then Christ lives in you, and He is the hope we have of glory, of eternal life with God.

Paul also highlights this truth in Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Our citizenship—where our true loyalty and true home lie—is not in this world. It is not on earth. Instead, it is in Heaven. Now, we await the second coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who is in Heaven at this very moment. 

One day, He will return to take us to Himself. Then, the burdens of this life will be over, and we will live with God as He intended from the beginning. We will finally, fully, and forever be home. 

Do you feel out of place in this world? If so, good! You shouldn’t feel too at home here, not when the Lord has something more for you. Stop looking for satisfaction in what the world has to offer. Instead, turn to Christ; He will satisfy you, give you the hope of glory through Christ, and change your citizenship!

“I have a loving Savior up in glory-land,

I don’t expect to stop until I with Him stand,

He’s waiting now for me in heaven’s open door,

And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”